The path since the network's creation hasn't always been smooth. Early negotiations with cable providers turned ugly -- certainly not the kind of publicity a fledgling business wants. But with the network now in its third year, it appears to be on solid ground.

The Big Ten Network is available in 70 million homes, including in 19 of the 20 top media markets. Officials expect to penetrate the last major market -- Los Angeles -- by year's end.

The network has had two profitable quarters, with a reported $29 million disbursed among conference schools.

"Financially, it was certainly a good deal," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said. "But I think the real benefit is the exposure that our institutions and our sports teams were able to realize."

The football coaches say the extended reach of the Big Ten Network has allowed potential recruits to become familiar with their programs. Ohio State's Jim Tressel spoke about an out-of-state recruit who knew plenty about the Buckeyes from watching old clips on the network.

"He knew more about some players from the '90s and '80s than I would have dreamed that anyone from this particular era knew," Tressel said.

The impact might be even greater for nonrevenue sports. The Big Ten Network carries many of those games live and streams more over the Internet.

"It's huge," Smith said. "If you're a volleyball player from New Berlin, Wis., your mom and dad have an opportunity to see you play periodically on the Big Ten Network, and they also might see you in a feature."

Ratings for nonrevenue sports are a far cry from ratings for football games, Silverman admitted, but providing an outlet for those sports is part of the network's mission.

"We're doing a lot of stuff that isn't necessarily for the almighty dollar," Silverman said. "This is a different kind of network, I've grown to understand that. Yes, we are a for-profit entity, but we're also trying to promote the Big Ten."

Silverman acknowledged that the first year was challenging.

"It was heavy lifting, and no one here will tell you otherwise," he said. "Now that we've gotten that behind us, we're just focused on making the network better."

This year, the Big Ten Network has added what it calls its four-pack of football analysis shows, and officials plan to produce a series of shows profiling the top 50 athletes in conference history.

"We're further along than I've ever seen a network two years on the air," Silverman said.

Industry analyst Derek Baine of California-based SNL Kagan agreed that the Big Ten Network has gotten off to a strong start. He said the combination of unique programming and distribution aid from minority owner Fox Broadcasting Co. has given the network a major boost.

But Baine said that these are difficult times for cable companies. The sour economy and the ill will created by contentious negotiations with the NFL Network and Big Ten Network have made cable carriers reluctant to accept the substantial annual fee increases sought by sports networks.

"There's just no way to pass that off to the consumer," Baine said. "So, rightly, they're coming back to the sports networks and saying, 'You've got to lower the cost to us or go on a tier.' You can't just raise your rates every year 5 to 10 percent. It's very challenging."

If the Big Ten Network can have more days like today, when it can show the conference's marquee teams, such issues might fade.

"I know I'm building up some expectations," Silverman said, "but I believe that with the combination of our afternoon game and our prime-time game, we'll have more viewers watching the Big Ten Network today than we've ever had on any day in our history."